Anambra State government has dismissed the allegation of vote-buying following Governor Chukwuma Soludo‘s cash reward for every ward won by his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in the forthcoming November 8 governorship election.

Naijaonpoint reports that Soludo, while speaking on Saturday during the party’s campaign rally in Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area, Soludo promised to give his party supporters ₦1 million.

He said, “When we were campaigning for the Senate, we knew we were going to win every ward in the South Senatorial Zone, but we still had some incentives. Any ward that APGA won received N1m, and we won all the wards in Orumba South.

“We promised each of these wards N1m and next week, we will redeem it. The ward that comes first will get N5m, the second N3m and the third N2m. That was the deal. For November 8, any ward that wins again will receive N1m, while the first three performing wards will get N5m, N2m and N1m respectively.”

However, opposition parties described the move as an open inducement and a gross violation of the Electoral Act.

In response, the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, in an interview with Punch, dismissed the accusations of vote-buying, describing the governor’s promise as a simple act of motivation to energise supporters.

Mefor also accused opposition parties of deliberate mischief, insisting that Soludo’s remarks were taken out of context.

He said, “How does motivation for supporters amount to vote-buying? I don’t see how this amounts to selling and buying of votes, even if it’s true.

“Vote-buying, in my view, is the act of purchasing votes. A vote must be priced and bought; that’s vote-buying. So, how many votes has Soludo purchased by such a promise?.

“Though I didn’t hear the governor say it, I don’t see anything wrong with a leader motivating his supporters. We have two forms of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is material reward, which could be monetary.”

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